Analyzing Globalization's Effects on Boots' Business

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Managing a Successful Business Project

Executive Summary
In this study, the primary and secondary research techniques has been undertaken for attaining
the objectives of the company of Boots to make benefits in its company policies by the social,
economic and ethical factors of globalization. The planning process also helped in achieving the
objectives within the deadlines and higher integrity. In the primary research, interviews and
surveys have been conducted and secondary research included gathering of information through
books and online journals.
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
P1 Devise project aims and objectives for a chosen scenario (M1, D1).........................................5
Project definition.............................................................................................................................5
Problem Statement...........................................................................................................................5
Project Strategy................................................................................................................................6
Project Aim......................................................................................................................................6
Project Objectives............................................................................................................................6
P2 Produce a project management plan that covers the aspects of cost, scope, time, quality,
communication, risk and resources (M1, D1).................................................................................7
Scope management..........................................................................................................................8
Deliverables.....................................................................................................................................8
Time management...........................................................................................................................9
Quality.............................................................................................................................................9
Project Processes...........................................................................................................................10
Communication plan......................................................................................................................11
Risk Assessment............................................................................................................................12
Resources.......................................................................................................................................13
Project assumptions.......................................................................................................................14
Milestone schedule(M1)................................................................................................................15
Schedule (Gantt chart)...................................................................................................................16
P4 Small scale research by applying qualitative and quantitative research methods (M2, D1)....17
Research method............................................................................................................................17
Primary data collection..................................................................................................................17
Secondary data collection..............................................................................................................17
Evaluation of accuracy and reliability of research methods (M2).................................................17
P5 Analyse research and data using appropriate tools and techniques (M3)................................18
Qualitative data collection through surveys..................................................................................18
Q4. Do you agree that strategies in ethical management have helped in the growth of Boots?....22
Qualitative data collection through manager interviews...............................................................24
Analysis of data.............................................................................................................................25
P6 Communicate appropriate recommendations as a result of research and data analysis (M3,
D2).................................................................................................................................................26
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P7 Reflect on the undertaking the research to meet the stated objectives and own learning and
performance (M4, D2)...................................................................................................................27
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................................28
References......................................................................................................................................29
Appendices....................................................................................................................................30
Appendix 1: Project Logbook........................................................................................................30
Appendix 2: Questionnaire............................................................................................................32
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Introduction
The globalization process has been ever increasing to assure that the companies all over the
world have made a generous impact in evolving the economies of different countries. The
country of UK has made its companies to participate in this globalization, thus causing
liberalization. This phenomenon takes under consideration the social, economic, cultural and the
ethical perspectives of the various companies influencing the business processes carried all over
the world. Due to globalization, the business organizations of UK has been helped in numerous
ways like advancements in technology, expansion of trades, gaining competitive advantage,
employment generation, communication between diverse cultures and improvement in the
structural growth of the companies.
The study mostly signifies the expansion process of the UK based company, Boots into the
market of Canada. Therefore, the research thoroughly evaluates the impact it is going to create
on the employees of the company and the analysis of customer preferences. The procedures
undertaken in this research also make recommendations regarding the improvements it can make
while expanding through the process of franchising.
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Background of the company
The organization chosen for the present study is Boots, a health and beauty chain, located in
United Kingdom and many other neighborhood regions. The parents company was Boots
Company Plc, which eventually made a merging decision, to become Alliance Boots. The
headquarters of this organization is located in Nottingham of UK. There are over 2500 stores
distributed all over the world, annual turnover amounts to 805 million British Pounds with
employee count of 120,000 (Boots-uk.com. 2019). The brands that Boots promote are Boots
Soltan, Seventeen Botanics and Soap & Glory. John Boots founded the company in the year
1849. The company also provides facilities in the pharmacy departments in optician and hearing
zones and locations, which provide transport, and airline facilities.
P1 Devise project aims and objectives for a chosen scenario (M1, D1)
Project definition
Any project can be defined as a series of reliable inputs and viable outputs that are helpful in
reaching the desired outcomes. With careful and diligent research tactics, adequate enquiries and
evaluation, the results of the project can be attained. There are several phases in a project which
creates the project life cycle (Colantone et al., 2015). The significance of each stage of the
project is clearly determined before the project even gets started. There are certain milestones in
each step of the project cycle along with a fixed set of deliverables. The cycle of the project
comprises of levels like beginning, executing, controlling and closure of the research project. For
conducting a project, certain requirements are there like a framed timeline, viable resources,
tools and techniques and a proper team work.
Problem Statement
The earlier expansion process undertaken by Boots for initiating its business processes in
European target market, due to legal complications it had to withdraw its plan of expansion.
Only Netherlands was the country, which relaxed its pharmacy laws allowing the company of
Boots to start its business. Nevertheless, the majority of European countries stood strict about
their intricately followed rules and regulations of the drug businesses (Wood, 2016). In
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Netherlands, the company had to open 50 stores but due to lack of proper identification of the
sites, it faced more problems. Moreover, the people of European countries were not open to the
newness of the health and beauty products offered by Boots and preferred to stick to their home
brands (Vlados et al., 2018). The customers were not able to develop trust on the new brand,
Boots and therefore their footfalls were significantly less, creating losses in the expansion
process. Therefore, the company while creating franchises in Canada has to properly analyze the
needs of the customers and thereafter improve the products and customer service features, such
that they feel the company more worthy than the other departmental stores.
Project Strategy
Implementation of the project strategy requires identification of the goals of the company of
Boots. The strategies mostly entails to the factors that must be taken up to gain a competitive
advantage in the market of pharmacy as well as health and beauty products (Martens et al.,
2015). The creation of strategy requires strong analytical and leadership skills. The collection of
relevant data for carrying out the research project is extremely necessary. To arrive at well
defined conclusions, the strategy must be accurate and responsive to the problems taken under
account. The researching techniques use both primary and secondary research methodologies,
like the employees of Boots have been convinced to give their responses to the provided
questionnaires and other surveys modes, whereas the managers have been asked to participate in
the interviews. Furthermore, books and other published journals have been accessed to gain more
detailed knowledge about the impact of the franchising process of Boots in Canada
(Vongpraseuth and Choi, 2015).
Project Aim
The aim of the project is to determine the impact of globalization on the company of Boots
during the expansion process with the help of franchises in Canada.
Project Objectives
The objectives ascertained in this project are given as follows:
● To determine the impact of globalization on the retail industry of UK.
● To understand the influence of globalization on the ethical, economic and cultural factors
of the retail industry.
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● To analyze the purpose of globalization in the company of Books and the benefits
accrued for the expansion of business in Canada.
● To come up with corrective measures and recommendations for effective establishment
of franchises in Canada by the company of Boots.
P2 Produce a project management plan that covers the aspects of cost, scope, time, quality,
communication, risk and resources (M1, D1)
Cost management
Task performed Budget per hour(£) Hours allocated The gross amount(£)
Collection of
resources
7 8 56
Allocation of the
resources
6 5 30
Collecting data 4 9 36
Determining the
techniques for
analyzing the data
5 7 35
Assessment of the
data
6 9 54
Formation of
outcomes
7 3 21
Total= £232
Table 1: Expenditure incurred in the research
(Source: Created by Learner)
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Scope management
The process of scope management helps in identification of the generated outputs, established
outcomes and benefits achieved with affirmations of further control management policies. With
the identification of the scope, the changes that are needed to be made in the research can be
determined (Dodson, 2015). There are two factors on which the scope of the project is
dependent, which are the characteristics of the objectives and the analyzation of these objectives.
The ability of the outputs to produce benefits is determined in this process. Proper identification,
definability and controlling stages are seen in the scope management method.
Here, the expenditures incurred in the research, allocated timelines, communication techniques,
risk elements, necessary factors for producing suitable outcomes and the factors taken as
assumptions are inferred. Therefore, the executive managers of the company of Boots have been
interviewed on important topics related to company expansion and business growth, and the
employees have been surveyed regarding their tenure with the company and the amount of job
satisfaction they have achieved in this field (Komori, 2015).
The scopes, which have been taken as exclusions mainly, comprised of the limitations that the
researchers faced during the time of interviews, surveys, data gathering and many other research
actions. The crisis factors of globalization have been also included in the excluded parts of the
scope management. The collection of the secondary materials like journals and relevant
information has its own complications. Apart from this, the factors which acted as hurdles in the
researching process were financial criterions and lack of time.
Deliverables
These are both tangible and intangible kinds and play a key role in the success of a research
project. The project would have no value if there are no deliverables present in it. The input
deliverables can be stated as information, planning, equipments, efficient technology and
finance. The outputs that are attained are in the form of strategies, tools and other test results.
Thus the deliverables are considered for gaining insights regarding the impact of franchising by
Boots and its implications.
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Time management
Action Required days
Summation of the resources needed for the
research
5
Estimation of the research needed for specific
objectives
14
Accumulation of the data 17
Evaluation of the collected data and its
assessment
16
Identifying the tools suitable for achieving the
outcomes
10
Table 2: Allocation of time for definite purposes
(Source: Created by Learner)
Quality
The quality of the project can be attained through quality control, project quality assurance and
the management of the same (Schrecker, 2016). The main aspect of the quality management is to
reach the objectives with the utmost preciseness and accuracy. In the entire project, the
researchers must not get distracted and the focus should be centered on the main goal that
understands the influence of globalization of the UK retail business of Boots. The team must
follow a certain deadline to achieve the aims of the chosen research and the budget allocated for
the project must not be exceeded in any manner.
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Role Responsibility of the quality
Project manager The manager of the project leads the entire
team towards the goals set for the project. The
formation of the budget, managing conflicts
and allocating the time limit proposed for the
project comes under the purview of the
project manager.
Team leader The team leaders are assigned to perform the
task of guiding the team in the correct
direction such that no incorrect information is
gathered in the research as well as set ground
rules for the entire team to abide by the ethical
aspects of the research process.
Members of the team The team members are specified about the
data they need to accumulate which would
benefit the research as a whole. The
conduction of surveys and the interviews are
the responsibilities of the members.
Table 3: Responsibilities of the team
(Source: Created by Learner)
Project Processes
The project management processes include initiation of the project, developing plan that are to
be implemented, the execution stage, controlling, validating, closure and assessment. The third
stage that is the execution process is the most influential as results produced at the end of the
project wholly depends upon the actions undertaken in the research. These processes require
efficient communication abilities and proper management of the team.
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Communication plan
What Why Who When Method
Planning the
project and
accumulation as
well as
separation of the
resources.
Planning
facilitates in
effective
management of
the project and
reduction in
miscalculations.
Project manager
and the team
players.
Before the
initiation process
Group
discussions,
mails and
message
conversations
Identification of
the processes to
collect the data
and evaluating
those with
specific research
methodologies
Helps in gaining
clarity of the
project with the
help of specific
methodologies.
Team leaders as
well as the
members.
During the
research process
Usual
discussionary
processes,
emails,
telephonic
conversations
and company
meetings.
Assessment of
the gathered
information and
development of
the results.
It is crucial that
the research ends
with fair
conclusions and
announcing the
outcomes.
Entire team,
including the
project manager,
team leader and
the subordinates.
At the end of
data gathering.
Meetings held by
the managers
with the
employees,
group
discussions and
general
conversations.
Table 4: Plan of Communication
(Source: Created by Learner)
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